Govt insensitive to suffering of farmers: Kadam

Published: Saturday, December 1, 2007, 20:03 [IST]

Subscribe to Oneindia News

Nagpur, Dec 1 (UNI) The incumbent Democratic Front (DF) Government was insensitive to the suffering of farmers in the Maharashtra, especially in Vidarbha region, Leader of the Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Ramdas Kadam said here today.

Speaking to newspersons at the conclusion of Winter Session, Mr Kadam said the government had not announced complete loan waiver for farmers in spite of the fact that the President and the Prime Minister had expressed concern at the high incidence of suicides among cultivators.

The state government already had a debt burden of Rs 1,47,000 crore, and the loan waiver would have put an additional burden of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore, he said.

Yet, the government had steadfastly refused to concede the demand and had put the ball in the Centre's court, stating that the Union Government had convened a meeting to discuss the issue, Mr Kadam said.

''We can understand, but the state government then should at least give a specific assurance that it would announce its policy within the next fortnight if the Centre did not make an announcement in this regard till then,'' he added.

The opposition was disappointed with the proceedings of the session, especially since there had been no discussion on several vital issues, Mr Kadam said.

Leader of the BJP group Eknath Khadse said the session had been reduced to a mere formality and the government was not honest about loan waiver. It had been on the defensive throughout the session, he added.